16.2.11

A Des Plaines-area man whose wife was reportedly planning to leave him is accused of stabbing her to death on Valentine's Day as their 9-year-old daughter listened to her screams from the next room, authorities said.

Heriberto Ramirez, 48, was being held in lieu of a $10 million bond Tuesday, a day after authorities said they found his wife Alicia Ramirez dead on the floor of their bathroom with 35 stab wounds following a 911 call from the girl.

Heriberto Ramirez, of the 400 block of West Touhy Avenue, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 45-year-old wife.

According to court documents, the couple's daughter heard her father drag her mother into the bathroom and called police. Ramirez hung up the phone as his daughter called for help, but sheriff's police dispatched to the home found the woman's lifeless body. Family members told authorities that Ramirez's wife had planned to leave him, the court documents said.

The girl was taken into protective custody of the Department of Child and Family Services, police said.